HONG KONG, China -- Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said on Saturday that an increase in Covid-19 cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests (RAT) is well within the scope of what the HKSAR government can handle.

Hong Kong started on Friday a three-day voluntary Covid-19 rapid testing, and the HKSAR government urged the public to report any positive results for Covid-19 within 24 hours.

Lam told a press conference that although the number of cases reported through RATs on Friday was higher than the previous day, the rise was not an exponential one and hence home quarantine support or arrangements for Covid-19 patients to stay in isolation facilities are within the government's capacity.

Lam believed that if this trend continues in the next two days, current social distancing measures can be relaxed in phases after the Easter holiday, in accordance with the government's previously announced work plan.

On Saturday, Hong Kong registered 897 new Covid-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 1,638 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed.

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